Coaches may ask "what does it matter if I use a diamond, triangle, square or circle if I am doing the same drill in them?"

As a soccer coach we are always talking TRIANGLES when speaking of game positioning. On any given training night I could probably count dozens of calls for "make a triangle." I myself have many times said those exact words. I recently was listening to a Podcast by Tom Mura who was talking about some sessions using a Double Diamond passing pattern. Although I am sure the Diamond or Double Diamond have been done for years by any number or youth and professional coaches it got me thinking of how I preach to my players that "little things make big differences".

I as a soccer coach have on many occasions setup a Rondo SQUARE and not thought anything about it because that is how I was taught to do it. As my son points out so eloquently "is a SQUARE and a DIAMOND not the same thing just turned a bit". Yes, Yes it is I responded. But then I asked the question question that turned on the light bulb, when was the last time you heard me or any other coach (either in pre-game or in the game) say "we need to make SQUARES today". Plain and simple we don't say those words. I am pretty sure I have never said in a pre-game strategy session that we are going to work on "making a SQUARE today."

I ask all my players to consider how much better they are when we perfect small details such as proper foot to use or body position. If I expect them to follow small details then I should hold myself to a higher standard if I want to teach them and be their role model.

CIRCLE: This round shape is often used in different activities such as warm-up sessions and Rondos but is not generally a shape we use in a soccer game. Although I have had a couple of seasons I joked that my girls team was playing a Donuts formation based on the fact that my midfield was bare due to them either being pushed up too far in the attack or swinging out wide on the wings.

SQUARE: It is a shape we see on the soccer field and in training from time to time. The problem most of us have in playing something like a 2 defender formation is that we always talk about being 'split'. So if the formation was a 2-2 most experienced coaches might move it around to a 1-2-1 formation as it makes it harder to split the players up the middle. So I would hope we can all agree a SQUARE is a DIAMOND but most of us do not play a square formation. So if we don't play a SQUARE formation should we maybe not run activities around it.

TRIANGLE: One of the most popular shapes in soccer. The poster child of on field positioning is the glorious TRIANGLE. The 3 corner approach allows for good passing, amazing ball movements such as give-and-go's or wall passing. But if you think about our Principles of Attack we always talk about penetration, width, depth and support. The TRIANGLE can provide some of these items if you set it up but will always lack one of them - because it only has 3 sides. If we want to make our training's 'game like' then lets step up to the DIAMOND.

DIAMOND: Last but not least the precious DIAMOND. Although a close relative to the SQUARE it seems the most well-rounded (pun intended) to provide all of the core of Attacking Principles in that it has width, depth and support. In training sessions I am going to start using the DIAMOND more often as I believe it adds the additional layer which in turn can give my players more options, more decisions and more challenges to improve on.

For some Diamond Passing Patterns: CLICK HERE